The present invention relates to printing presses having a plurality of ink control devices for controlling the flow to different respective circumferential zones of a printing plate for effecting the printing of an image. In particular, the invention relates to predetermining appropriate settings for each of the ink control devices in accordance with the amount of ink required to print the corresponding circumferential portion of the image, the settings being predetermined by analyzing the average amount of printed area to be inked within each portion or zone. The present invention is an improvement upon a system described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,088 to R. K. Norton, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Predetermining Settings For Ink Fountain Keys", issued May 25, 1965, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The present invention is related also to a patent application Ser. No. 271,555 by J. Gaillochet, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,409 issued Dec. 10, 1974 entitled "A Method Of And Apparatus For Giving Information On The Ink Requirements Of A Printing Forme", filed July 13, 1972, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.